Ignition device for explosive-engines.



E. PODLESAK.

IGNITION DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.29, 1912.

Patented June 30. 1914.

rum. ronnasan, or TIFFIN, on o.

IGNITION DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE-ENGINES.

Specificatlonbi Letters Patent.

Patented June so, 1914.

Application filed November 29, 1912. Serial No. 734,143.

and break igniter and magneto of the type described in myapplicationSerial .No. 639,738, filed July 21, 1911, wherein the rotor is oeratively related tothe movable electrode of the igniter to produce anigniting spark as the rotor causes an electric impulse to be genegted inthe windin s, the rotor being n ov in one direction y an actuator uperating in timed relation to the piston of t e engine and .returnedquickly by spring action to normal position when released frorn' suchactuator, whereby the rotor causes a rapid change in the magnetic flux,through the energizing windings of the generator and a consequent flowof the igniting current.

The principal object of the present in' .Qventionis the provision of adevice in the form of an attachment for such combined igniters andgenerators, whereby the rotor tan be manually operated to produce anelectric impulse for the; igniting spark so that the engine can bestarted on the spark or without the necessity of cranking. This isespecially advantageous in large engines where starting b cranking ispracticall impossible. Smal engines equipped wit-1 the combined igniterand generator described do not need this manual starting device as thegenerator will operate with the engine during cranking, no matter howslowly the cranking takes place, since the s iarking current isgenerated by the return of the" rotor under the influence of its springswhen the rotor is released from the actuating elementathat movessynchronously with the vcrank shaft during the cranking. In the caseoflarge engines, however, the starting is accomplished by a plying acharge'of explosive mixture to t e cylinder when the piston is in theright position for starting a and then operating the rotor actuatingdevice by hand, such device serving to engage some part connected withthe rotor so as to move the latter to cocked position, and at the sametime place the return springs for the rotor-under tension, and while insuch whereby to hold the 'means for the rotor can be set to oscillatethe 1 there.

; gierees. Without proper gaging means, it is 4 cocked position, thestarting device is released to permit the rotor to rapidly return underthe contraction of its springs and thereby cause the igniting current tobe generated in the winding, the movable electrode of the igniter being,of course, operated by the rotor, as in normal operation, so that thespark will be produced'to ignite the charge in the c linde l Anot orobject of the invention is to so construct the magneto operating orstarting device that the same can be used as a gage rotor in its propercocked position so, that the actuating rotor through the proper angularmovement and release rotor at the proper instant. This is of articularimportance, as heretofore asbeen no means of accurately ad- 7 5 Justrngthe actuator for the rotor, general d1- rections being given by themanufacturer for 1 the user to set the actuator to give the rotor anangular movement of a certain number of 8O cult to obtain an adjustmentto give the f rotor the required number of degrees, and as a result,whenthe rotor is not given the proper angular movement, a current ofsulficient strength cannot be generated, so that less-power is obtainedfrom the engine and starting is difficult, whereas when too great anangular movement is given to the rotor, due to improper set of theactuator, undue strain is placed on the parts so that excessive wearresults.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear as the descriptionproceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features ofconstruction andarrangement of parts which will he more fully describedhereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appendedhereto.

In the Faccompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of theinvention,

Figure 1 is aside elevation of the apparatus showing the use of thestarting and gaging device in position for gaging the set of theactuator with the rotor in cocked position. Fig. 2 is a detail plan Viewshowing the starting and gaging device in its relation to thespring-actuating means for the rotor. Fig. 3 is a side view ofthestart-ing and gaging lever showing its relation to the crank arm ofthe rotor. Fig. 4 is a sectional View of the device showing the meansfor actuating the rotor to cocked position,

to I

' and the relation of the rotor shaft to the movable electrode.

eamilar reference characters are employed to deniguate correspondingparts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, 1 and 2 designate the permanent magnets of thegenerator, and 2*" and 2" the pole pieces having git-moral lug-windings2 and 2, respectively, there being mounted between the pole pieces acruciform rot or The rotor is mounted on a shaft 17 which is journaledin end plates 3 whiclii form part of the "frame of the magneto. On oneend of the shaft 17 lastened a bar forming the oppositelydispeoed crankarms 14 which are provided with pivot pins 16 that carry spools 12 towhich the inner ends of the rotor returning springs 13 are connectelhthe outer end; of the springs being hooked over-spools 12 on the pivotposts or pins 11. The springs 13 and arms 141-. nori'i'iall} lie in astraight line passing through the pivot posts 11 and ro- -tor shaft 17.and when the rotor is moved to "cocl(ed position, the crank arms 1%.move with the rotor and place the springs 1?; under tension byexpansion, as shown in Fig. 1. ()n the end of the shaft 17 opposite fromthe crank arms 14 is a trip finger 39 and a hammer arm 44.. Adapted toengage with the trip finger 39 push rod or ac tuator which connected bya wrist pin 27 with a dial; 253 fastened to a shaft 26 which rotateswith the Crank shaft of the engine. 'lhe push rod 28 is supported atapoint inlerinmliate its ends b) a grooved roller 32 journaled on the pin81. which is carried by an arm 30, such arm being adjustably connected ba bolt 90 to a lug on the frame of the device. This roller 32 forms afulcrum on which the push rod has a rocking movcn'ient simultaneouslyWill) he back ind forth longitudinal movenent and the tip or free end ofthe rod 2'6; '15 a lapted to engage the trip finger 39 to move lhe rotorto corked position and then to slip oil the trip linger so that therotor ran wimp bael-i lo normal position. in order to obtain the properadjlutment oi the actuator or push rod 25 so that the trip finger willbe releasol at the proper moment, the roller-earrying! a rm 2% can beswung up or down about the bolt ill) as a center, and furthermore theconnection ol the rod With the rotaving element 35 can be adnsted lrvn'ioring the rod 28 into or out of the socket piece 20 and clamped inthe right position bV the set screw 21.

The igniter is o? the usual constrr tron and comprises a frame body lwhich has stud hole 234 for clamping: the body to the engine cylizder.ll/ l] the body P of the ignite]- an extension 15 which is provided witha shelf on which the generator is niou ed. The cylindrical body portion2') enters the usual opening in the engine cylinder for the :eiuiter. inthis body portion 1) are fixed and mo 'able electrodes (2 and e thelatter having an arm 0 that carries a I sparking point (1 adapted toengage the sparking point a on the fixed electrode, the maid sparkingpoints being, of course, on the inner ends ol the electrodes so as toignite the explosive charges in the engine cylinder. On the outer end ofthe movable electrode 6 is an arm 4 which carries an anvil. member inthe form of a screw l5) so positioned as to be struck by the hammer arm14, the ecrew 4."; being adjusted with respect to the hammer arm toobtain the proper results. The movable electrode is provided with aspring or equivalent means tending to hold the sparking: terminals (2and 0" in Contact and one way of accon'iplishiug this is to provide aspring lli, Fig. 1. which con uected with thi arm fl l and with the body1 of th igniter. When the rotor is rocked the arm 41- moves away fromthe arm 43 to thereby permit the electrodes to come into com'act. and onthe return movementot the rotor. the arm 41 imparts a pm ert'ul hammerblow on the arm 41-3 to rtl'ect a quick separation of the electrodes forthe prm'luriion ot' the igniting spark.

The Starting and gaging device which ronstitutes the subject-matter ofthe present invention will now he descrila-u'l. This consists; of alever l which is 'l'ulcrumed on one oi the pivot posh ll and has ahandle so that in reality the device is a double arm or hell crank leverhaving a pivotal move ment on the pin or post 11. The arm -lis ;-,:ulli-iemlv greater than the distance between the pivot post 1'1 and theouter end of the adjacent arin 1.4 of the rotor that the free end of thearm 4': can el'igagie the pivot post or n'ieinber 16 of the crank arml-iland cau e the rotor to be moved to rocked position by the upwardmovemenl o'l' the arm Normally the starting device A is suspended in thedotted line oailion. Flt ,1 l, and to start the engine b meaneor aspark, the handle 3 is swung upwardly lo the left to engage the arm lwith the member l of the rotor crank arm ll. The movement of the handle5 is then continued in the same direction so as to give an angularmovmnent to the rotor and to pla e the springs 13 under tension.Finallv. when the cocked position is reached. the r rm 4t will slipunder the member l6 of the crank arm 14 and allow the rotor to springback to its normal position. t dorr' not matter hoivslowly the rotor ismoved to corked positionb v the nianuallv artuated starting device it,as the electric impulse is generated by the return movement 01" therotor from cot-lied position when'the arm 4- releases the rotor. it willbe understood that the eleetrod s of the enemas" igniting device will beseparated at the time t e electric impulse is generated, just as in thenormal operation of the ignition apparatus. In order-that the arm 5 mayclear the member 16, the said arm is provided with an offset w, therebypermitting the arn: 5 to be raised past the member 16 and the arm 4engaged with such member.

To adapt the device A as a gage for holding the rotor in cocked ositionwhile the actuating means 28 is being adjusted, the free extremity ofthe arm 14 is provided with two pro ections 6 and 8 with an intermediatedepression 7, the bottom of the depression being at a radial distance a,Fig. 3, from the center of the pivot post 11, while the projections 6and 8 are located at the radial distances 6 and 0, respectively. Whenthe sun 4 is brought into engagement with the member 16, the projection6 will first engage the member and finally a position 1s reached wherethe member 16 enters the depression 7, as shown in Fig. 3, and in thisposition the projection 8 looks the parts against return movement underthe tension 0 the springs 18, and as the combined length of the arm 4and crank arm 14 is greater than the distance between the center of thecrank shaft 17 and pivot post 11, a toggle arrangement is provided,locking the rotor indefinitely in cocked position. The actuating element28 can now be adjusted in the part 20 and the arm 30 also adjusted sothat the tip of the member 28 will just enga e the tip of the tripfinger 39. After this a justment is efiected, the device A is releasedfrom the member 16 to allow the rotor to return to its normal position.In this manner, the'release of the rotor from the actuating mechanismcan be easily, quickly and accurately determined and thus the bestoperating results of the generator, igniter and engine obtained.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, the advantages of the construction and of themethod of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention appertains, and while I have described theprinciple of operationof the invention, together with the apparatuswhich I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to haveit understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative, and thatsuch changes may be made when desired as are within the scopeof theclaims appended hereto.

Having thus described the invention, what- I claim as new, is

1. In an 1gn1t1on apparatus, the combirotor, an'actuator for moving therotor in one direction and automatically releasable therefrom, means forquickly moving the rotor in the opposite direction when recrank arm androtor to normal position. nation of a current generator including aleased from the actuator, and a manuallyactuated device for moving therotor and releasing the same similarly to the said actuator.

2. In an ignition apparatus for explosive 7! engines, the combination ofa current generator including a rotor, engine-operated means for movingthe rotor to, and releasing it at, cocked position, means for suddenlymoving the rotor upon being released, and a v manually-operated devicefor moving the rotor to, and releasing it at, cocked position forstarting the engine by spark ignition. v

3. In an ignition apparatus forexplosive engines, the combination of acurrent generator including a movable inductor, an actuating meansreleasably engaged with the inductor for moving it to a given position,means for suddenly moving the lnductor after such position is reached,and a starting device for moving the inductor to, and

releasing it at,sai'd position for the generating of ignition current tostart the engine.

4. In an ignition device for explosive engines, the combination of acurrent generator including a rotor, an arm on the rotor,

a spring connected with the arm, an engineoperated device for moving therotor in a direction to place the spring under tension and adapted tothen release'the rotor, and a manually-operated device adapted also tomove the rotor to place the spring under tension and thereupon releasethe rotor.

5. The combination of a current generator including a rotor, acrank armon 'the rotor, a spring connected with the rotor, an actuator for thecrank arm, and a lever having an arm adapted to releasably engage thecrank arm for moving the rotor and releasing the same similarly to thesaid actuator.

6.- A current generator including a rotor, a crank arm connected withthe rotor, a spring having one end connected with the arm, an anchor forthe other end of the spring, and a devicemou'nted'on the anchor for thespring and movable into engagement with the crank arm to move the latterand place the spring under tension and re lease the arm for permittingthe spring to quickly return the rotor.'- Y

7. The combination, of a current generator including a rotor, a crankarmon the rotor including a projectingfmember, a spring, connected at oneend with thesaid member, v and a swinging devicem'ovable into enga'ge-12o ment with the said member to swing the crank arm and place thespring under tension andreleasableifrom the said member to permit thespring to quickly return the IIS 8. The combination of a currentgenerator including a rotor, a crank arm on the rotor havin aprojectingmember, a spring connecte at' one end with the member, an anchor for theother .end of the spring, a use engage with and move the trip linger toa swinging member pivoted on the anchor and longer than the spring andhaving its tree 1 end adapted to en 'agc the member for swinging the armand moving the rotor while placing the spring under tension and torelease the member to permit the spring to quickly return the arm androtor.

9. The combination of a current generator including a rotor, a devicefor moving the rotor to cocked position, means for quickly moving therotor from cocked position, and a gaging device pivoted on the generatorfor moving the rotor to cocked position and for holding it in apredetermined cocked posi tion to permit the device to be adjusted withrespect to the rotor.

10. The combination of a current generator including a rotor, anadjustable actuator for moving the rotor to a given position and thenreleasing the rotor, means for quickly moving the rotor when released,and a device mounted on the generator to engage the rotor for movingsame into and holding it in said given position for permitting theadjustment of the actuator. I 11. The U()Il1l')il1titi0ll of a currentgenerator including a rotor, a trip finger connected with the rotor, apush rod adjustably mounted with respect to the trip finger to givenposition and then release the same, means for quickly moving the rotorwhen the actuator rcleases the trip finger, and a device for moving therotor and holding it in such position of release to permit the actuatorto be adjusted with respect to the trip finger.

t 12. The combination of a current generator including a rotor, a crankarm connected with the rotor, a member on the arm, a spring connectedwith the crank arm, a device movabie into engagement with the member formoving the arm against the ten sion of the spring and adapted tointerlock with the said n'ieinher for holding the arm stationary whilethe rotor is in cocked position, and a rotor actuator adapted to beadjusted with respect to the rotor while held, in cocked position bythesaid device.

13. The conil'iinatioir of a current generator including a rotor, an armon the rotor, means for moving the rotor to cocked position, a springplaced under tension by the increment oi the rotor to cocked positionfor returning the rotor when released from the actuator at cockedposition, a swinging member movable into engagement with the arm formoving the rotor to cocked. position and adapted to hold the arm in suchcocked position, and means for adjusting the position of the actuatorwhile the rotor is held in cocked position by the said swinging member.

14. The combination of a current genera tor including a rotor, an armthereon, a spring connected with the arm, a member on the arm, aswinging lever mounted on the generator to engage the member and slippast the same to move the rotor to cocked position and having means withwhich the member is adapted to interlock for holding the member incocked position, and an engine-operated actuator for moving the rotor tococked position spect to the rotor while the latter is held in cockedposition by the said swinging lever.

and adjustable with re- In testimony whereof I atlix my signature Iwitnesses.

in presence of two,

' Eli 11L PODLE SAK.

Witnesses A. E. scene,

33. Hammers.

